As Immokalee was making three consecutive runs to the high school boys soccer state tournament, Cape Coral was a common steppingstone along the way.

The Indians had eliminated the Seahawks in the regional playoffs three consecutive years heading into Wednesday night’s Class 3A-Region 4 quarterfinal match, with Immokalee going 5-0-1 against the Seahawks overall over the past four seasons.

That all came to a screeching halt, with the Seahawks scoring two goals in the game’s first four minutes to take control and never let up in a 5-1 victory.

Immokalee (12-12-4), which has claimed five consecutive district titles, saw its season end earlier than it has since the 2010-11 squad went 6-10-4 and missed the playoffs entirely. Cape Coral (22-3-2) travels to archrival Cape Coral-Mariner in the semifinal round Saturday in a rematch of the Class 3A-13 final, won by Mariner last Friday. The Tritons beat Golden Gate, 4-2, on Wednesday.

“I think tonight our kids seemed not to want it as much as Cape did,” Immokalee coach Saintano Damas said. “That was a big difference-maker in the game. From what I was seeing, after they scored two goals early on us, it seemed like we were a little bit nervous, a little emotional. It seemed from that point on, the game was going Cape’s way.”

The Seahawks' Juan Parra notched three assists, setting his teammates up at will all night. Jeremy Jimenez and Adao Miranda scored goals less than five minutes into the game, and the Seahawks never looked back.

“This is the game we’re capable of playing when we put it all together,” Cape Coral first-year coach Daniel Gross said. “They’ve knocked us out of the state tournament (three years) in a row. The kids were ready for it tonight.”

Jose Parra scored off a Juan Parra assist for a 3-0 lead 7 1/2 minutes into the second half, and Immokalee’s Lupe Guzman countered at the other end just 25 seconds later for the Indians’ lone highlight of the game.

Their momentum didn’t last long. Jeremy Jimenez trickled one past Immokalee keeper Carlos Contreras, who appeared to misjudge it. That goal, which came on Juan Parra’s third assist, extended Cape’s lead to 4-1 with 25 minutes to play. Mateo Castano added another with 12 minutes left to complete the scoring.

The Seahawks cruised from there, finally breaking Immokalee’s four-year hold on them. They now get another crack at their rival in the fourth meeting between the two teams this season. Cape won the two regular-season meetings via 1-0 and 2-0 shutouts, with Mariner returning the favor with a 2-0 blanking of the Seahawks in the district final.

“We played well in the district final against them. We just didn’t put it in the back of the net,” Gross said. “That’s the difference between today and the other day. We just finished. The boys played a pretty complete game today. But this game tonight won’t mean anything Saturday. Mariner’s a very talented team, but we’re a talented team, too. We’ve beaten them twice, they’ve beaten us once. If we play a complete game like this, we should come out on top, but I know Mariner’s going to bring it.”

As for Immokalee, the Indians made their earliest postseason exit since the 2010-11 squad missed the playoffs.

Still, there was much to be proud of with this group. The Indians entered district play under .500 and the fourth seed out of five teams in the Class 3A-District 14 field. But they got hot in the district tournament, winning three straight games to claim a fifth consecutive title.

“These kids accomplished a lot this season. They got better as the season went on,” Damas said. “We won just one district game this year and were the fourth of five teams, but the kids never gave up on themselves. They kept believing.”

Immokalee said goodbye to a few key seniors Wednesday, players who have been around for so much postseason success. Playing in their last games for the Indians were Contreras, Guzman, midfielder Raymundo Cervantes, defender Elias Cuevas, midfielder Carlos Trigueros and five other seniors.

“These kids have meant so much to our success,” Damas said. “I just told them how proud I was of everything they’ve done for this program.”